Looking for My Jesse James
by Tigerdust
Summary: Done for the Valentines Glee challenge on lj. Puck gets a hamster, Rachel tries to tutor Finn through a song, and Tina breaks Artie out of detention by questionable means. Just another day in the land of Glee!


"Do you remember when I gave you guys that assignment to do a mash-up?"

There was a murmur of consensus. People did remember but it was Thursday and everyone was pretty much lagging. Except for Mercedes, who kept clicking the unlock button on her phone every five minutes. Even for her, that seemed like a bit much. Mr. Schuester wasn't one to be dissuaded when he was in the midst of the speech. As long as your ringtone didn't go off, you didn't have to pay the fifty cents to the ringtone tax and he didn't give you his halfway stern ringtone glare.

"Well, I've had another idea. We are going to re inspire the Western."

Rachel raised her hand. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Schuester, but haven't we already performed a country song?"

Will pointed his index finger into the air while heading to the white board. In green, curvy letters he wrote the word Western. "Ah, you are correct Rachel. But doing a country song is different from reinventing a western."

Artie furrowed his brow. "I'm not sure we understand what you mean, Mr. Schue."

Will clasped his hands together as he thought. "How about this then? You each find a western inspired pop hit. After we pick the top three contenders as a group, I will break you into groups of four and you'll perform them. We'll choose one for invitationals."

Finn's eyes lit up. "It'll be like a tradition, then."

"Right you are, Finn."

Rachel nodded her head, looking at the rest of the class as though she were about to address them. "I personally think it's a great idea. Even the backstage prop master in the theater department has his own superstitions. Its seen as a way to promote good luck and unity."

Artie cocked his head. "Whats our criteria, Mr. Schue?"

Will shrugged. "That's up to you. What makes a good western?"

Kurt's hand shot up into the air, his eyes sparking as though he were having a great idea. "Levis. Hip holsters, tumbleweeds."

Smiling and nodding at Kurt, Will continued. "And that's just the start. I'll give you a week to figure out what you want to perform. I expect you guys to take this seriously. I'll put the same stakes out that I did last time. Winning entry gets the performance."

Santana crossed her arms. "You're not gonna have Ms. Pillsbury judge again, are you?"

Will chuckled to himself. The kids knew him too well. "You'll just have to show up to find out."

The practice room started to empty as people broke off into natural groups. Quinn walked over to Artie to ask him about a mutual assignment they had for biology when Mercedes jumped up, causing Kurt to shift back a bit in his seat.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! I gotta get home!"

Will pumped his fist. "That's right Mercedes, feel the excitement!"

Tina called from a couple of seats down, craning her neck to see where Mercedes was hurrying off to. "What's going on?"

"We've got a code orange!"

Kurt smiled. "This is so exciting! Its like being on Greys Anatomy!"

Matt blinked from where he was sitting, next to Santana. "What is a code orange?"

But Mercedes and Kurt were already halfway out the door. Kurt leaned his head back as Mercedes was pulling him into the hall. "Sprinkles is having her baby!"

Quinn crooked her brow. "All that excitement for a hamster?"

Brittany smiled warmly, addressing Santana. "Must be a first time parent. Mom said Dad was like that when I was born, only he was smoking a cigar. Thank goodness Mercedes doesn't smoke a cigar. Hey, we should talk to my dad! He's way into John Wayne. He'll be able to tell us everything about old westerns."

Quinn sat on the stool, balancing her book and notes while Artie scanned the page quickly. "Must be a dad thing," she interjected to Brittany. "Mine has the entire collection of Clint Eastwood and Jimmy Stewart. Even Jimmy Stewart did a western."

Artie circled something in her notes, putting a question mark after. Looking up, he addressed Quinn with a smile. "Your notes are pretty solid, Quinn. And I must admit, I'm a little puzzled by the Western assignment myself. But dad also enjoys western days on AMC. Perhaps our fathers are the right ones to ask."

Kurt and Mercedes weren't thinking about the new Glee assignment though. They were just hitting the beginning of the parking lot when Kurt stopped to take a breath. "Mercedes, Mercedes. Didn't your dad drop you off this morning?"

Mercedes turned back to face him. "Oh, yeah. Well, we ran out of there like fools, what do we do now?"

Kurt put his hand on his side since he was dealing with a bit of a stitch from running so hard in his tight black jeans. He nodded to the back of the parking lot. "Puck."

Mercedes turned to the back of the lot, scanning feverishly. "That'll do, then. Lets go, Kurt!"

Puck had just finished laughing at something Mike had read from the tfln website and he turned, stunned to find Mercedes half running in his direction. "Sup, Mercedes?"

Mercedes stopped long enough to put her hand on her hip so that her purse didn't slide out of her hand. "You wanna do us a favor and be a hero, Puck?"

Puck furrowed his brow. "Depends. Whats in it for me?"

"Triple chocolate and strawberry shake." Kurt was panting still, but had enough breath to tumble out the shake order just as he caught up to Mercedes.

Puck shrugged. "We've got all Mike's stuff moved into his new house. Lets roll."

It seemed to take forever to pull up into Mercedes' driveway. Popping off her seatbelt with Kurt close behind, Mercedes busted through her door. "Momma?"

Mercedes' mom's voice called from the kitchen. "Just finished checking. Warming up a couple of towels. Vet is up there now."

Mercedes started heading up the stairs. "Thanks mom. Kurt is here and another guy from Glee."

"Hey, Ms. Jones!" Kurt called from the entry way. "Just gonna take my book bag up with me. Puck's following me and he'll get the door!"

"Come on, Kurt! Sprinkles needs us!" Mercedes eyes opened wide and her feet were tap dancing on each side.

Kurt nodded, taking the stairs two at a time. Puck eased inside the house, shutting the door behind himself. Mercedes' mom came out the kitchen and looked at Noah from the dining room. He nodded, extending his hand. "Noah Puckerman, ma'am."

"Mercedes' mom. Nice to meet you. You'll have to excuse the mess. I'm making some cookies you can take up to them."

Puck noticed the yellow glove stained with flour that matched the yellow shirt, also stained with flour. "Shoes on or off?"

She flicked her wrist, shooing the thought off. "Doesn't matter. My daughter and Kurt just flew through here like they were announcing a tornado. One more pair ain't gonna hurt."

Puck nodded. "Yeah, she was pretty excited all the way over. Hope I'm not such a wreck when I get to be a dad."

Mrs. Jones chuckled. "You will be. Come on, help me plate up these oatmeal thumb prints and you can take them up with you."

When Puck finally made it upstairs, he was stopped at the door by a gloved and masked Kurt, who seemed to be standing at about twice his usual height. "Mask and gloves."

Puck shifted his gaze to the left and the right of Kurt. "I brought cookies. That's all your getting from me."

Mercedes smiled, her voice calling out the door. "Mom is the best."

"You're not getting through without a mask and gloves. Junior must have a sterile environment."

Mercedes was over at the cage, watching the miracle of life unfold with the vet. "We're gonna have a more original name than Junior for whatever it is."

The vet chuckled. "You know Kurt, you don't need gloves and a mask. This is just Sprinkles giving birth."

Puck teased Kurt. "Here that, Doctor Zhivago?" He pushed his way into the room with the plate of cookies, setting them down on and plucking one off the plate to bite on triumphantly.

Kurt put his hand on his hips. "Doctor Zhivago was a movie about a guy who experimented on animals on a freaky island he owned."

Mercedes cried out over their bickering. "Its happening!"

Mercedes' mom joined the merriment on the event. "It's..."

Kurt and Puck had varying reactions to the birth. "Gross." "Inspiring!"

Mercedes beamed. "They are so adorable."

Mercedes mom shook her head. "They'll be more adorable once you get them wiped off."

Puck waited a moment. "You're not going to name the babies after other ice cream toppings, are you?"

Mercedes pursed her lips at Puck. "For your information, I was seven when we got this hamster as a baby. And you go ahead and tease, but I'm giving you one both one of the triplets, so you better start thinking of a name real quick, Noah Puckerman."

Kurt and Puck were taken aback. "You're doing what?!"

-----Two evenings later------

Finn chuckled at the text message he received. "He's decided to name him Savage."

Rachel rolled her eyes as she finished the plate of pasta, sopping up the last bits of sauce with a bit of garlic bread. "Classic Noah."

"Think he's gonna try and shave a Mohawk in its head?" Finn quirked his head up from the phone screen to address Rachel.

Rachel shook her head. "I'm pretty sure I wouldn't recommend that. No matter how fond the hamster gets of him, Savage would probably bite him on the hand if he tried to use a razor."

Finn chuckled again with a sigh on the end. "Yeah, it'd probably endear him to Puck more actually. Glad I didn't drive Mercedes home. I can't even keep a plant alive."

Rachel set her plate down on her desk, a few inches from her laptop that was playing soft jazz from her iTunes. "That's hard to believe. You've got pretty fatherly instincts to take care of Quinn the way you did."

Finn turned a little red. "You trying to flatter me, Rachel Berry?"

Rachel rose from her own seat and sat on the edge of her bed, looking down and crossing her legs. Her eyes rose slowly to meet Finn's thousand watt grin. "You do it for me often enough."

Finn nodded. "And I've meant it every time."

Rachel blushed, not talking for a moment. Then she licked her lips with resolve. "Okay, Finn, we should talk about the assignment."

Finn shrugged. "Plenty of time. But thanks for letting me come over. Dad was...a fan of western movies. Can't really talk about it with mom."

Rachel nodded, trying to keep herself from running fingers through his hair. "Must be hard, all those memories locked away, having no one to talk with."

Finn shook his head. "Nah. Shrink said we'd probably always grieve, but it would get easier. And it was for me, until I met you."

Rachel batted her eyelashes. "Do I make your life complicated?"

Finn leaned in, his breath heavy with tomato. He wanted to kiss her. "Maybe, just a little."

Rachel let one shoulder slip down slightly so that Finn could move in to kiss her, but thought better of herself in the end. She sprang off the bed and closer to her desk. "No, if we start kissing then we'll never get this done."

"I could live with that."

But then he lost Rachel to her overwhelming sense of duty. "Yes, but I could never live with that. After all, I need time to storyboard, choreograph, start thinking up costumes."

Finn fell back in his seat. "Okay, but promise me I can get at least one kiss before we finish tonight?"

Rachel clasped her hands together and teased Finn with a smile. "if you're a perfect gentleman, I might let you give me a kiss at the door. Now, why don't you go through my old cds and I will check iTunes and dad's old vinyl?"

Finn got up from the chair with a sigh. "Alright, but I'm holding you to that perfect gentleman thing."

For a few minutes, they worked in comfortable silence until Finn pulled a cd out of the case and caught Rachel's attention with an _ah hah_!

"What did you find?"

Finn noticed how close she was but didn't say anything. "Looks like an old Cher song, Jesse James is mentioned on here."

Rachel smiled. "Fantastic! I'm pretty sure that he was a Western icon. Colin Farrell played him in that movie."

Finn had a moment of recognition. "Yeah. I think I've got that one right next to 3:10 to Yuma."

Rachel gave Finn a sidelong glance. "But that's not alphabetical at all."

"Least of my worries, Rachel."

"Okay, but you'll be sorry when I come over to watch a movie and you can't find the right one. I have pretty high movie standards."

Finn popped the cd into Rachel's stereo. "Well, thats why God gave us Netflix."

"You are hopeless, Finn Hudson." Rachel joked.

"Worse things in the world to be."

-----------

No one would argue that Finn was distracted by Rachel. Even Quinn couldn't ignore the gazes between the two forever. She was sad about the loss of her ex-boyfriend, but she felt that she deserved to have to watch their burgeoning romance. When the time came, she would ask Finn to be the godfather; even if she had to clear it with Rachel first. Rachel and Finn both deserved at least that much.

It was no surprise then that when the Glee kids were having a picnic on the bleachers the next day, Finn was distracted when Sue found Artie rolling by and talking on his cell phone. He was sent to detention for using a personal cellular device, a mostly ignored school rule, but Artie was in luck. The old school nurse who had fallen down the stairs had recently returned to work and she had a soft spot for Artie.

Thats really the main reason why Tina didn't feel too bad about breaking Artie out of detention to spend a pleasant Friday afternoon with her. Tina was glad that she had saved all of Mercedes' updated text messages from the birth of the hamster. The nurse was gullible enough to believe it was Artie's sister, even believing that Tina and Artie were an item.

To be fair, most of the school was pretty sure they were together and the Glee kids were no different. Neither had really objected and both Tina and Artie enjoyed each other's company in social settings, just never having gone on an actual date. Even in that brief awkward period between when Tina had outed her stutter, Artie had kept it to himself and hadn't corrected anyone. She had come back to his locker one Wednesday with the movie Saved, asking him if they could watch together. Artie didn't hold a grudge against her and really just wanted to move past the entire event. Springing him from a bad detention was just another step toward their reconciliation.

"I appreciate you springing me, Tina."

Tina walked slowly as Artie rolled her chair down the empty hallway, their steps the only sound moving along. "I was happy to help. It was unfair of Coach Sylvester to put you in detention in the first place."

Artie shook his head. "Its not good when someone abuses the rules like that. It really makes a mockery of the system."

Tina shrugged. "At least we know she can do some good. She got those ramps built."

Artie stopped for a moment to adjust his glasses. "Indeed. But one wonders what all her ulterior motives are."

"With people like that, they're usually quite pretty clear." Tina then quirked her head, listening to sound echoing down the hallway. "Speaking of people with ulterior motives, do you hear that?"

Artie listened quietly than started rolling again, this time in the direction of the auditorium. "Sounds like Rachel. Must means she and Finn are practicing."

"Finn or Puck."

Artie crinkled his nose. "She was only with Puck to get closer to Finn, I think. She really wants Finn. Wanna go listen in?"

Tina smiled at Artie's devilish smirk. "Sure. Got nothing else to do this afternoon."

Finn was sitting on the piano bench, listening to Rachel sing. She was strutting seductively all around the stage as though she always moved that way. Once Artie pulled back, Tina walked farther backstage with him. She took a nearby stool and folded her hands in her lap.

Tina bit down on her lip. "Artie, if I asked you something, would you give me an honest answer?"

Artie blinked inquisitively. "Of course."

Tina took a moment, her lip quivering slightly in fear of his answer. "D-D-Do you w-w-wish that-t-t Rachel was singing to you?"

Artie was confused by the question. "Why would I want that?"

"Well, she's prettier than me and she has a better voice and if you weren't in that chair..."

Artie rolled forward as Tina studied her black Converse with the pink and purple Sharpie shapes. The arm of his chair nudged the toe of her shoe. "Hey, look at me. Even though its not the most ideal situation, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Without the wheelchair, I never would have met you. This chair has made me who I am. And I want a lot more than a voice. I want a girl that has more than talent."

"What are you looking for then?"

Artie smiled softly at Tina. "You."


End file.
